Pentagon and U.N. Chief Put New Pressure on N. Korea

The U.S. announced it would conduct joint naval exercises with South Koreans and the top U.N. official said the Security Council would need to take action against the North.

DAVID E. SANGER and THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON — The United States and its allies put new pressure on North Korea on Monday, announcing naval exercises next month to detect submarines of the kind suspected of sinking a South Korean warship, and winning the support of the secretary general of the United Nations for Security Council action.

The officials were seeking to calibrate the response to North Korea cautiously in large part because of concern about how North Korea might react. The country’s defense commission, which rarely issues public statements, has threatened direct attacks on South Korea if it retaliates for the sinking of the warship Cheonan, though the North has denied responsibility for attack, which killed 46 sailors.

American officials acknowledged that the types of steps announced Monday — the threat of Security Council sanctions, military maneuvers and exercises to practice intercepting North Korean ships suspected of carrying arms or nuclear technology — have been tried before over the past two decades. While some have inflicted temporary pain, they have not deterred North Korea from conducting two nuclear tests since 2006, a battery of missile tests that have yielded mixed results and the sale of nuclear and missile technology to the Middle East.

The strongest statement about North Korea’s culpability came at the United Nations, from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who was foreign minister in South Korea during a failed effort at what was once called the “Sunshine Policy” of increased interchanges with the North.

“There must be some measures taken,” he said at a news conference, though he stopped short of saying what those measures should be.

“The evidence is quite compelling,” he added, saying he was trying to separate his personal feeling from his duties as secretary general. “There is no controversy. Therefore it is the responsibility of the international community to address this issue properly.”

On a trip to Beijing, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “Our support for South Korea’s defense is unequivocal.”

At the Pentagon, officials announced that the United States and South Korea would hold exercises in coming weeks to practice missions detecting enemy submarines and intercepting cargo vessels suspected of hauling nuclear weapons, bomb-making materials or other prohibited arms.

“Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said one exercise would allow the South Korean and American militaries to practice antisubmarine warfare. South Korean officials said their warship was sunk by a North Korean torpedo.

But the announcement also appeared to be an acknowledgement that South Korea’s submarine detection technologies left something to be desired. The Cheonan crew had no idea that a North Korean submarine was in the region, and even after the sinking, it took weeks to determine what had hit the ship.

A second set of naval exercises will focus on halting banned cargo at sea, and will be held under the auspices of the Proliferation Security Initiative, a multilateral program to intercept the movement of nuclear materials, weapons and components.

When that program was begun by the administration of President George W. Bush, South Korea at first refused to join, for fear of angering the North. That decision was reversed more than a year ago, but Seoul is now willing to participate in exercises in how to track North Korean ships and force them into port.

Although the White House released a statement early Monday morning that assailed North Korea for its “belligerent and threatening” behavior and promised close military cooperation between the United States and South Korea, Pentagon officials later in the day spoke in cautious tones , and stressed that the issue should be resolved through diplomatic efforts .

“Obviously, the goal here is not to increase tensions or do things that are going to look overly provocative or add to the tension in the region,” said one senior military officer. “At the same time, we want to make sure we are ready to support the South Koreans throughout this issue.”

American officials say there are no plans to bolster the American troop presence in South Korea, which has dwindled to about 26,000, about half the number of troops in the region during the nuclear crises of 1994 and 2002-2003. In the 1994 crisis — when North Korea threatened military action if its nuclear program was referred to the Security Council for action — President Bill Clinton was preparing to reinforce the American military presence on the peninsula.

Since then, South Korea’s own capabilities have improved considerably, American officials say. And the United States maintains the ability to strike from a distance with weapons aboard American warships and combat aircraft. But the North also has a larger stockpile of nuclear fuel, enough for eight or more nuclear weapons, which clearly factors into the calculations being made in Seoul and Washington.

The United States will also have to take the lead in Security Council action — at the same time it is trying to win its approval of sanctions on Iran. Both resolutions will require Chinese support, and so far China has not acknowledged North Korean culpability, much less discussed sanctions or other punishment. American officials noted that while South Korea announced a nearly total cutoff of trade with the North on Monday, the amounts are small enough that China could make up the difference.

South Korean officials said their nation would sever nearly all trade with North Korea, deny North Korean merchant ships use of South Korean sea lanes and ask the Security Council to punish the North. In addition, the South’s military moved to resume “psychological warfare” propaganda broadcasts at the border after six years.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.